disassemble brass padlock help

[gr00ve]

i read the instructions on disassembling a brass padlock from that stickied post but i dont quite understand it.

Locating the retainers:

There are a few different styles of padlocks, most will have pin retainers others will use a brass cover. The retainers for the cylinder and shackle will be on the face of the padlock, and for the type using the brass cover it will be in an extra pin hole under the cover.

i see the pinhole.

Drilling:

It is not easy but with a careful look we can see the retaining pins. Though they are not clear, they will give a fair idea of where to drill. To drill the retaining pins, select the correct sized drill bit and place it into the chuck of your press (make sure it is all tight).
We then place the lock into your vice and tighten* to reduce the risk of the lock slipping in the vice.
As we can see the holes, bring the drill down on the centre of each retainer (the drill is turned OFF for this). It will leave an accurate dent to guide the drill bit for accurate drilling (you can also use a metal punch). After all is setup and you are happy with the way it has been marked we then proceed to drilling each pin.
Each retainer should be drilled until the resistance is relieved in the press handle. Once they are all drilled you will be able to remove each pin. (The same method is used when drilling the cylinder and shackle retaining pins, though it doesn’t matter as much if you over drill the pin)

this part confuses me. what is the point of that little hole in relation to where i want to drill? am i drilling on the side of the lock, just using what i can see through that little hole as a guide? then drilling down into each pinstack?

Plugging the holes.

After we have repinned or rekeyed the cylinder we can proceed to plugging the pin columns. There are many possible ways to do this but there are a few that I have found to work particularly well with brass padlocks and my practice locks.

i get this part but i might have to see it to understand it entirely.

[ToolyMcgee]

The pinhole you are talking about is for water drainage. He was talking about a retaining plug chamber underneath a brass retaining plate. On a 6 pin lock it would be a 7th pin chamber, or an "extra pin hole". Illusion made a tricircle practice lock tutorial guide with good pictures here:
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10665

That lock of course has a brass retaining cap above all the pin chambers, but finding individual retaining plugs is the same process Illusion discribes in his guide for finding the retaining cap. Then after you have drilled out the holes you can use your rotary tool to clean up and cut away the spaces between the pins so you can plug it like Illusion does with the tricircle. It's a very helpful guide. Read it and I'm sure it'll clear up whatever you didn't understand. Good luck with the practice lock.

-Tooly

[gr00ve]

oh wow that was really helpful, thanks for the link

[Nitrous]

The pinhole you are talking about is for water drainage. He was talking about a retaining plug chamber underneath a brass retaining plate. On a 6 pin lock it would be a 7th pin chamber, or an "extra pin hole". Illusion made a tricircle practice lock tutorial guide with good pictures here:
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10665

That lock of course has a brass retaining cap above all the pin chambers, but finding individual retaining plugs is the same process Illusion discribes in his guide for finding the retaining cap. Then after you have drilled out the holes you can use your rotary tool to clean up and cut away the spaces between the pins so you can plug it like Illusion does with the tricircle. It's a very helpful guide. Read it and I'm sure it'll clear up whatever you didn't understand. Good luck with the practice lock.

-Tooly

The "Fortress" brand of Master Lock padlocks have the pin chambers plugged with brass. The surface is brushed to blend the plugs in with the body of the lock. There are no steel spacing pins. The spring directly contacts the brass plug on top, and the top pin on the bottom of the pin chamber. The bottom pin, located in the cylinder completes the two pins per pin chamber setup.

Interestingly, pins are all spool (bobbin) security top pins except one standard top pin.
There are four active pin chambers, with the fifth chamber filled with a solid brass retention pin. The retention pin is the furthest from the base of the lock.

I used an automatic set punch to push the plugs down. If all you want to do is gut the lock, just drill out the last pin chamber. You'll be able to get the retention pin out by giving the lock a couple taps from the opposite side of the lock. This pin is not sprung but it does tend to go flying.

MAKE SURE THE SHACKLE IS LOCKED BEFORE REMOVING THE CYLINDER. with the key inserted to bring all the pins to the shear line, twist the cylinder a quarter turn COUNTER CLOCKWISE. as you remove the cylinder, you will see the bottom pins in the cylinder. The top pins and their springs will fall in behind the cylinder plug.

The pin chamber plugs are all located in a line, midway between the front and back of the lock body. They are evenly spaced. Before drilling, I use the set punch to drop them (the chamber plugs) into the pin chambers. They are only rests fitted in place. Originally, I got the spacing by cutting the lock in half (through the long axis of the cylinder). After knocking the plugs out with a broken drill bit, I simply used the brass half with the pin chambers in as a template to locate the drill points on the other locks. (Only works for same size locks-40mm Fortress Master Locks but many other locks of the same type are simply rebranded Chinese locks)

Good luck